A lawyer from Tenterden suffered a catastrophic head injury in a boating accident in Brazil, an inquest heard today.

Gillian Metcalf, 50, died almost instantly when her boat was hit by another.

Both boatmen were speeding, and the accident could have been avoided, the hearing at Folkestone Magistrates Court was told.

Scroll down for video

Mrs Metcalf of Plummer Lane died on September 5, 2013, while on a family holiday.

Her husband Charlie, who was with her, told the hearing he knew the two boats would collide and threw himself to the floor.

Video: Josie Hannett reports from Folkestone Magistrates Court.

Video: Charlie speaks on the verdict.

He said: "I saw my wife limp, with an injury to her head, which I realised straight away was life-threatening.

"It was a significant, horrific injury."

Video: Kentish Express reporter Tricia Jamieson reviews the Gillian Metcalf case.

Mr Metcalf said the river was busy with other boats and swimmers and there had been no safety briefing.

The accident happened about 300 metres from the harbour, when he saw a speedboat approaching and knew there would be a collision.

Neither boatman took any evasive action.

Coroner Christine Freedman read from a report from Brazilian investigators in which they said both pilots were speeding.

Because of the river conditions they should have been at a medium to low speed when they wre both at a medium to high speed.

Both had been "imprudent" and could have avoided the accident.

Miss Freedman also read some comments made by the Brazilian judge at the boatmen's trial in which he said neither had taken evasive action.

The accident had been entirely avoidable and had caused the death of an innocent passenger.

A post mortem in Brazil gave the cause of death as cranial trauma.

Miss Freedman recorded a conclusion of unlawful killing.

After the hearing Mr Metcalf said: "It was the only verdict, given the evidence.

"There is a sense of relief because it is always difficult to go over the accident again.

"This is the end of the process thus far but there will be civil proceedings."

At the time of the accident, the Metcalfs, along with their two daughters, were on the Rio Negro on their way to the hotel Juma Jungle Lodge in Rio Preto da Eva.

They were just days into a 12-day tour of the South American country.

Mrs Metcalf, 50, had been a partner at Sharratts affordable housing law firm, based in Brasted, since 1999.

Earlier this year, two boatmen were found guilty of the equivalent of manslaughter by a judge in Manaus over Mrs Metcalf's death.